Clutches and their operation are well known in the art. A power take off (PTO) clutch is typically arranged surrounding a shaft. A PTO clutch can be used to translate rotation from a drive source, such as an engine flywheel, to drive the shaft via mechanical actuation. As is well known, induced positive engagement of a friction disk can result in translation of flywheel rotation to the shaft. Other components such as tools can then be driven off of the rotating drive shaft.
There are several problems associated with the design and operation of the prior art PTO clutches. For example, mechanical linkages can have a complex arrangement of many parts.
Replacement of a particular part can require disassembly of the entire clutch and the handling of numerous non-defective parts. Thus, part replacement can be cumbersome and time consuming.
Thus, there exists a need for a PTO clutch apparatus without complex mechanical linkages and that provides for a simpler and more efficient part replacement process.